University of Nottingham Students' Union
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The University of Nottingham Students' Union is the students' union at the University of Nottingham.
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Introduction
The Students' Union is a charitable organisation, enshrined by legislation such as the Education Act 1994, and responsible for a number of areas of work - Student Representation, Student Activities, Student Advice on Education and Welfare, and Campaigning.
Prior to 2000, the University of Nottingham Students' Union was known as the University of Nottingham Union, abbreviated to UNU. The renaming was intended to clarify the Union's status as a Students' Union. Its current full name is the University of Nottingham Students' Union, shortened to the Students' Union where appropriate; its name is not usually abbreviated to initials.
Subordinate Bodies
There are several categories of subordinate bodies of the Students' Union. These carry out various parts of the remit in a fairly decentralised way. The Associations and Student-Run Services report directly to Students' Union Council.
- Associations
- Student-Run Services
- Societies
- Athletic Union
Associations
Residential Associations
- Broadgate Park Residents' Association (BPRA)
- Cavendish Hall JCR
- Off-Campus Students' Association (OCSA)
- St Peter's Court JCR
- Sutton Bonington Association
Non-Residential Associations
- Disability Action
- International Students' Bureau (ISB)
- Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Association (LGBT)
- Mature Students' Association (MSA)
- Medical Society (MedSoc)
- Men's Campaign
- Nursing and Midwifery Association (UNNAMA)
- Physiotherapists Students' Association (Physios)
- Postgraduate Students' Association (PGSA)
- Racial and Religious Equality (RARE) Campaign
- Women's Campaign
Associations are also referred to as 'Associated Bodies'.
Student-Run Services
The Student-Run Services are services run for students, by students:
- CD & Record Library
- Forum (Guest Speakers and Debates)
- Gayline (Similar, but less frequent service to Nightline)
- Impact (Student Magazine)
- Karnival (largest student-run rag in the UK)
- New Theatre (Student Theatre group)
- Nightline (Welfare based listening service and telephone information service)
- Unifilms (Cinema on campus)
- University Radio Nottingham (Radio Station)
- Week One (freshers' week organisation)
- TEC PA & Lighting (http://www.nottinghamtec.co.uk/) (Sound and Lighting Company)
Prior to around 1999 the Student-Run Services were known as 'Ancilliary Services'.
Societies
There are over 100 Societies affiliated to the Students' Union. Some of these are long-standing and have existed for many years; others will run for a few years before winding down.
Prior to 2002 the Societies section of the Students' Union was called 'Clubs & Societies'. This was changed to 'Societies' to reflect the fact that most of the non-sporting organisations are called "Xyz Society", and most of the sports organisations are called "Abc Club"; there are certain exception to this rule where an organisation that falls within the Students' Union's Societies section is named a club, and vice-versa.
Athletic Union
There are over 70 sporting clubs affiliated to the Students' Union, which fall under the Athletic Union.
As well as the Sports Clubs, the Athletic Union also runs an Intermural sporting system - the annual competitions of Interhall, Society/Association sports matches, as well as the organisation relating to sports matches against other Universities.
Governance
The Students' Union is governed by its Constitution and Regulations. The Constitution is a relatively short document, which is changed infrequently; any changes to the Constitution have to be approved by the University Council. The Regulations can be amended without reference to the University, but are subordinate to the Constitution. The Students' Union also maintains a Policy File, which outlines its stance on various issues.
The Students' Union is established by the Statues of the University, which provide that "There shall be a Union of Students of the University" and that "Ordinances shall prescribe the constitution functions privileges and other matters relating to the Union of Students." Ordinance XI: Union of Students fulfils this role.
The Students' Union is, naturally, subordinate to the law of the land; one of the most relevant pieces of legislation is Part II of the Education Act 1994, which specifically deals with students' unions.
Changes to the Constitution, Regulations and Policy File are typically made by Students' Union Council; however, the whole membership can vote on a policy in a referendum. Referenda are generally fairly infrequent, and on major issues.
Students' Union Council
Students' Union Council is the highest regularly-meeting decision-making body of the Students' Union. It meets around eight times per year. For Council to make any binding decisions it has to be quorate; quoracy for Students' Union Council is set at 50% of voting members of Council.
Members of Students' Union Council can be either voting or non-voting members. The voting members are designed to be representative of the membership of the Students' Union as a whole. Most non-voting members sit on Council to represent various views that it is felt important to have represented at this level, but where they do not represent a clear constituency of students; each Student-Run Service, for example, has a non-voting seat on Council, since it is felt that there will be issues that it useful to have their input on, but that those involved in their organisation are already represented through a Council Rep.
The Constituencies for Voting Members of Students' Union Council are, for the most part either residential or subject-based. Generally, first year undergraduates are grouped into constituencies determined by their residence (e.g. Hall of Residence)., with students in subsequent years represented through their subject or faculty.
The remaining Council positions are held by the Executive Officers, JCR and Association Heads, and Student-Run Service Heads. It is worthy of note that despite representation on Students' Union Council, and elsewhere in the Students' Union, the majority of JCRs at the University remain entirely autonomous from the Students' Union. This has been a controversial issue for many years.
Affiliations
The Students' Union is currently affiliated to:
- The Aldwych Group
- The National Union of Students (NUS)
- British Universities Sports Association (BUSA)
- Universitas 21 Student Network
- National Postgraduate Committee (NPC)
By law the decision to affiliate to external bodies has to be made on an annual basis, so these affiliations are reconsidered yearly.
Executive Officers
The Executive Officers of the Students' Union, who also act as trustees of the charity, currently number thirteen (although this number has changed over the years). There are currently five Non-Sabbatical Officers and eight Sabbatical Officers. Non-Sabbatical Officers hold their position alongside their studies, whilst Sabbatical Officers hold the position full time, either taking a year out from their studies, or for a year after they finish their course. An individual is only allowed to hold the office of the Sabbatical Executive positions for one term (equal to one year). Individuals are allowed to hold non-Sabbatical Office for multiple years, or multiple Executive years of office - providing the one Sabbatical term rule is adhered to.
The Executive Officers are elected by a cross-campus ballot of all students. In recent years the University of Nottingham Students' Union has achieved relatively high levels of participation in its Executive Officer elections.
Executive Officers 2004-2005
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Associations Officer | Stacey Van den Aardweg |
| Athletic Union Officer | Claire Lewis |
| Education Officer | Alex Hawkins |
| Environment Officer | Jennie Dodson |
| Equal Opportunities Officer | Vincent Wong |
| Events Officer | Helen Slater |
| General Secretary | Chris Norris |
| Intersite Officer | Sam Dance |
| President | Rob Taylor |
| Societies Officer | Liz Disney |
| Student-Run Services Officer | Rosie Ellis |
| Treasurer | James Spong |
| Welfare Officer | Anne Griffiths |
Past Executive Officers
Key : (s) = Sabbatical (ns) = Non-Sabbatical
| Year | Position | Name |
|---|---|---|
| 2003-2004 | Associations Officer (ns) | Jon Scott |
| Athletic Union Officer (s) | Michelle Toase | |
| Education Officer (s) | Jonathan Auld | |
| Environment & Social Justice Officer (ns) | Sara Kassam | |
| Equal Opportunities Officer (ns) | Ubhilasha Varsani | |
| Events Officer (s) | Nick Lindsay | |
| General Secretary (s) | Ruth Heseltine | |
| Intersite Officer (ns) | Iain Shaw | |
| President (s) | Russ Davidson | |
| Societies Officer (s) | Richard Webster | |
| Student-Run Services Officer (ns) | Yashodha Balraj | |
| Treasurer (s) | James Law | |
| Welfare Officer (s) | Meryl Conisby | |
| 2002-2003 | Athletic Union Officer (s) | James Bryant |
| Education Officer (s) | Alice Humphreys | |
| Entertainments Officer (s) | Simon Marks | |
| Environment & Social Justice Officer (ns) | Conall Watson | |
| Equal Opportunities Officer (ns) | Hanadi Ghannam | |
| General Secretary (s) | Paul Corbett | |
| Intersite Officer (ns) | Zoe Gates | |
| President (s) | Naakuu Paul-Birabi | |
| Societies Officer (ns) | Ali Lowry | |
| Student-Run Services Officer (ns) | Nick Woodbyrne | |
| Treasurer (s) | Brian O'Connell | |
| Welfare Officer (s) | Claire Parker | |
| 2001-2002 | Athletic Union President (s) | John Barlow |
| Clubs and Societies Officer (ns) | Becky Brocklebank | |
| Education Officer (s) | Tom Tolliss | |
| Entertainments Officer (s) | Richard Fisher | |
| Environment & Social Justice Officer (ns) | Andi Allen | |
| Equal Opportunities Officer (ns) | Helen Lindsay | |
| General Secretary (s) | Jim Vine | |
| Intersite Officer (ns) | Gemma Carter | |
| President (s) | Jules Creighton | |
| Student-Run Services Officer (ns) | Chris Holt | |
| Treasurer (s) | Liz Winton | |
| Welfare Officer (s) | Louisa Butler | |
| 2000-2001 | Athletic Union President (s) | James Bigglestone (aka Biggles) |
| Communications Officer (ns) | Kweku Adoboli | |
| Clubs and Societies Officer (ns) | Osman Hadi | |
| Entertainment Officer (ns) | Tanya Nathan | |
| Environment Officer (ns) | Amy Foulkes | |
| General Secretary (s) | Duncan Mann | |
| President (s) | Alain de Sales | |
| Sutton Bonington Guild Chair (ns) | ||
| Treasurer (s) | Ebru Tatlidl (??) | |
| Vice-President (s) | Paul Wakefield | |
| Welfare Officer (s) | Eve Bazely | |
| Women's Officer (ns) | Tamara Singh | |
| 1999-2000 | Athletic Union President (s) | Al Greenwood |
| Clubs and Societies Officer (ns) | Duncan Mann | |
| Communications Officer (ns) | James Clark | |
| Entertainment Officer (ns) | Roger Durham | |
| Environment Officer (ns) | Emily Spearman | |
| General Secretary (s) | Chris Keeling-Rowe | |
| President (s) | Alex Sackey | |
| Treasurer (s) | Chris Allchin | |
| Sutton Bonington Guild Chair (ns) | ||
| Vice-President (s) | James Ballard (aka Joker) | |
| Welfare Officer (s) | Ellen Midwood | |
| Women's Officer (ns) | Sara Padidar | |
| 1998-1999 | Athletic Union President (s) | Fadi Nashashibi |
| Clubs and Societies Officer (ns) | Hicham Yezza | |
| Communciations Officer (ns) | Rhodri Ferrier | |
| Entertainment Officer (ns) | Anna Morris | |
| Environment Officer (ns) | Andy Pollock | |
| General Secretary (s) | John Robarts | |
| President (s) | Gabi Piper | |
| Sutton Bonington Guild Chair (ns) | Tom Kingston | |
| Treasurer (s) | Mike Bryan | |
| Vice-President (s) | Tarig Hilal | |
| Women's Officer (ns) | Ellen Midwood | |
| 1997-1998 | Athletic Union President (s) | Deivakumar Rajasingam |
| Clubs and Societies Officer (ns) | Sian Matthewson | |
| Communications Officer (ns) | James Barton | |
| Entertainment Officer (ns) | David Martin | |
| Environment Officer (ns) | Melanie Edmunds | |
| General Secretary (s) | Kitty Fothringham | |
| President (s) | Amy Jones | |
| Sutton Bonington Guild Chair (ns) | James Brown | |
| Treasurer (s) | Tim Stephens | |
| Vice-President (s) | Sinead O'Rourke | |
| Women's Officer (ns) | Clare Goalby | |
| 1996-1997 | Athletic Union President (s) | Emma Pitteway |
| Communications Officer (ns) | Laura Childs | |
| President (s) | Mike Scott | |
| Treasurer (s) | Andy Batty |
Prizes and Awards
There are currently three levels of awards granted by the Students' Union to graduating students:
- Ordo Caligulae
- Honorary Life Membership
- Union Prize
The Students' Union makes the following awards to non-students:
- Don Varley Award
- Golden Jubilee Award
Ordo Caligulae
The Ordo caligulae is the highest award of the Students' Union, and includes Honorary Life Membership of the Students' Union, and consequently members of the Ordo Caligulae enjoy those benefits detailed under Honorary Life Membership.
Membership of the Ordo Caligulae (literally, "The Order of the Boot") is granted to those "who have given outstanding contribution to the University of Nottingham Students’ Union." It is probably named after Jesse Boot (later Lord Trent), who was a great benefactor of the University.
The existence of the Ordo Caligulae is laid down in the Ordinances of the University (Ordinance XI: Union of Students), which are themselves approved by the Privy Council.
In recent years typically a maximum of one or two new members have been admitted to the Ordo Caligulae in any year.
Honorary Life Membership
Honorary Life Membership is conferred on those who have furthered the achievements of the aims of the University of Nottingham Students’ Union.
The Students' Union Constitution lays down certain rights of its members (including Honarary Members):
1. Take part in functions organised by the Students’ Union. 2. Become members of all Clubs and Societies affiliated to the Students’ Union. 3. Attend Union Council, Executive Committee and Standing Committees 4. Wear official University colours.
(Further rights, such as the ability to stand and vote in Students' Union Elections, are reserved for "Full Members" - those registered as students at the University).
In recent years typically five to eight new Honorary Life Members have been created in any year.
Union Prize
With typically thirty recipients each year (from a graduating class numbering around 8000), this prize is highly regarded, and is presented to graduating students of the University of Nottingham in recognition of contribution of time and resources to the benefit of the Students’ Union.
External links
- University of Nottingham Students' Union Official Site (http://www.su.nottingham.ac.uk/)
- University of Nottingham Official Site (http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/)
- Ordinance XI: Union of Students - the Ordinance of the University of Nottingham which establishes the Students' Union (http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/registrar/calendar/ordinances/xi.htm)
